Phantom Warrior
by ssj4nappa
Summary: The Z warriors, the most powerful gang in Dakaan city, and even on all of Cypra Mundi, are almost in a position to seize power from the Arbite forces in Dakaan. Will the intervention of a mysterious stranger be enough to stop the Z warriors from succeding
1. Chapter 1

Author Note: This is my first attempt at writing. I intend this to be a long piece and will continue to add the new chapters over time as they are done. All feedback is welcome. These characters are entirely made up and any resemblance to anyone is purely coincidental.

**Phantom Warrior**

**Chapter 1**

Sgt Johnson ducked as the heavy stubber opened fire again. The squad had lost its cyber-mastiff to the first volley of the thing. Fortunately it had given the squad enough time to dive behind the nearby truck. Things were not going as well as Johnson had hoped. What was meant to be a simple raid on a gun warehouse had become a disaster. The gang that owned the warehouse had been in the process of rearming themselves when they arrived. Now his five man squad was pinned down by over thirty gang members. Davis had taken a round to the leg before he could get to cover. Blain tried to bandage it as best he could. The rest of the squad were returning fire as best they could, but the three heavy stubbers meant they spent far more time hiding than shooting. Wallace fired a shot out the advancing gang members, the executioner round homed in and caught one between the eyes. Ducking down to avoid the return fire he loaded another executioner round.

"I'm down to three executioner rounds, and I'll never get enough time to aim a normal shot," said Wallace grimly.

Godden fired a shot, the executioner round dropping another gang member. "That was my last executioner round."

Johnson had called for back up and they were on their way, but at this rate they would most likely be dead before they arrived. Some of the gang members were getting closer, advancing under the covering fire of the heavy stubbers. One leapt atop the cab of the truck and aimed his lasrifle at Johnson. He tried to raise his shotgun to shoot the attacker when a single shot was heard above the heavy stubber fire and the gang member was blasted apart. That could have only have been a bolter shot.

Turning to see who had fired the shot he saw a large figure hidden beneath black robes. He was holding a smoking bolter. He met Johnson's gaze for a second before turning to the gang members with heavy stubbers. With three quick shots he dropped them. The ones that had been advancing on the Adeptus Arbite enforcers turned to confront the new threat. Advancing calmly the black figure snapped off shots, every one dropping a gang member. Some got behind cover and began to return fire. Moving faster than Johnson thought possible the black figure avoided the shots. Pin point accuracy picked off any who raised their head. Now it was the gang members turn to be pinned down. Unable to get a shot the black figure slung his bolter behind his back and sprinted towards the hiding gang members. Leaping over the cover he kicked the first opponent, snapping his neck. Another rose his gun, but it was knocked aside and the black figure struck out, knocking out the gang member. One tried to stab him in the back. He dodged and grabbing the knife twisted it and rammed it into its owner stomach.

Spinning to confront a gang member who was preparing to strike him with an iron bar when the assailant dropped. Johnson had shot him. He gave Johnson a curt nod before catching another gang member's gun. Wrenching it from the gang members grasp he struck him with the butt of the rife. Swinging the rifle into a firing position he opened fire, terminating several more gang members. Discarding the weapon once the clip had been spent he drew his bolter and, after kicking aside a gang member who tried to rush him with a chain sword, began blasting apart more gang members. Faced with a seemingly unstoppable foe the gang members began to flee, but the black figure showed them no mercy and efficiently exterminated them all.

Johnson checked his squad was okay before turning to thank the black figure that had intervened, only to find he had gone. Moments later their back up arrived, amazed at the carnage in the warehouse. Johnson got the medics to Davis and the squad returned to the HQ while the other Arbite squads organised for transports to take the weapons to a secure location. Johnson's squad were silent as they headed back. All were wondering the same thing. Who was it that had saved them?

Zarlan had dispatched some men to find out what had happened at warehouse 8. They had been too long for everything was going well, all they were doing was a simple re-armament. Zarlan began running through the list of possible options. A rival gang could have claimed the warehouse and his men were fighting to reclaim it. If that were the case the men he had sent would offer assistance and hopefully be sufficient to reclaim it. If not they would send the runner back and he would send more men.

This, however, was unlikely. He could not think of any gang with the audacity to attempt to strike against his gang. The Z warriors, as his gang was known, where the most feared gang in Dakaan city and an attack of the kind needed to capture the warehouse would be enough to start a gang war. No one started a gang war with the Z warriors.

Another possibility was that the men at the warehouse were going to rebel and use the weapons to form their own gang. If this had happened then they could have ambushed and killed the men he had sent, or possibly convinced them to join them in the revolt. But this was even less likely than another gang attacking. The last people who had rebelled against him had woken up in the middle of the ash wastes.

The final option was by far the most likely. Arbites. If they were they interfering then it could be a problem. If it looked like his gang members were winning then the men he had sent would reinforce them for a swift victory. If they were losing then they would be abandoned. After all, they were expendable.

The runner of the group burst into Zarlan's throne room. Giving him a moment to catch his breath he demanded a report.

"Boss, it's horrible. Bodies, bodies everywhere."

Zarlan cut him off with a gesture. "What did you find?"

"All of them, the whole force, wiped out."

"By whom?"

"Arbites it seems, several had been killed by executioner rounds."

"Arbites!" Zarlan spit out the word. They were always interfering in his affairs, and had now cost him men and supplies.

"Boss…"

"What!" demanded Zarlan angrily.

"Most of them were killed by… bolt shells."

"Bolt shells?"

"Yes."

"Leave me, all of you."

The gang members and slaves quickly left the room. Had the Arbites put together a new force armed with bolters? He needed to know what he was up against. Pity there were no survivors, next time he would make sure there was someone who could give him a report of what happened. Zarlan sent a call to Brian.

"Brian?"

"Yeah boss?"

"Gather some of the boys. I have a job for you."

"Sure boss, name it."

"You are to take control of the Saint Janus hospital."

"Saint Janus hospital? Why?"

"Never mind why just do it. Demand whatever you want from the Arbites when they arrive."

"Sure, okay boss."

He knew Brian's methods. He was sure Brian could attract enough attention to draw this new Arbite unit into the conflict. Then he would see just what he was up against. He made another call.

"Rat, I have a job for you."

Johnson met his squad in the infirmary. Davis had his leg bandaged and was set to make a full recovery.

"How do you feel?"

"Fine," Davis smiled, "I should be back on patrol in a couple of weeks."

"Who were the gang that attacked us?" asked Blain.

"Z warriors."

"They're going to be a real trouble soon," stated Wallace, "Over 60 of incidents with gangs involve them."

"And no other gang wants to confront them," added Godden.

"Maybe the guy who saved us will slow down the Z warrior's expansion," said Davis hopefully.

"Maybe," said Johnson thoughtfully, "Come on guys, let's let him rest. We're supposed to be patrolling anyway." The squad went out to the armoury. They had received a replacement cyber-mastiff and would have to patrol as a four man team, as no replacements were available.

"Who do you think that guy was?" asked Godden.

"The one who saved us back at the warehouse?"

"Yeah, him."

"No idea," Johnson closed the locker and finished loading his automatic combat shotgun, "but we have orders to keep an eye out for him."

"And do what if we find him?" asked Wallace looking up from the new cyber-mastiff he had been programming, "Arrest him? 'Cos I for one don't want to try it."

"Although attacking people is against the law, if it's gang members we can let it slide. If he goes for citizens of the Imperium we are to stop him." The squad was now outside and about to start their patrol.

"Can we stop him?" asked Blain.

"Let's hope we don't have to find out."

Brian had begun to organise the moment he got the call. Firstly he called his two best mates who he could trust to do what he ordered with brutal efficiency, Rocko and Bruce. Brian guessed fifty men would be enough to hold Janus hospital from the Arbites providing they could dig in enough. The force was rapidly assembled and headed for warehouse 3. They began arming themselves from the ample supply of weapons. Rocko, being the big guy went straight for a heavy stubber, as did five other gang members. Bruce grabbed a triplex pattern lasgun, he like the reliability of a las weapon coupled with the triplex's ability to fire at higher energy settings. Brian went for his usual two stubbers, he thought of himself as a gunslinger, though he only had above average skill with them. The remainder of the gang grabbed a variety of las and auto guns, mainly auto guns for the noise. All also grabbed various vicious looking implements for close combat. Brian grabbed a large, two handed axe. Half a dozen vox units were handed out.

"You," said Brian pointing to one of them "are to stay with me at all times. You stick with Rocko, you with Bruce. The rest of you spread out amongst the guys so everyone can hear me."

Several trucks were waiting outside from them to provide transport to the hospital. The gang members quickly loaded themselves into the trucks and headed off to the hospital. It had not been long when Brian received a vox message. It was Rocko.

"Why exactly are we takin' the hospital Brian?"

Brian ordered his reply to be transmitted to every one. Zarlan had said he could demand what ever he wanted. "You all remember Harry right?"

"Yeah," it was Bruce, "The Arbites arrested him a month or so ago didn't they?"

"That's right," said Brian with a grin, "and today were gonna demand his release, along with Danny and Greg."

"Danny boy! Alright!" came Rocko's enthusiastic voice, "he's been inside for over a year now. It'll be good to see him again."

"That's why there is gonna be no slip ups. You all do what I say when I say and this'll work like a charm."

A large black figure silently entered an abandoned apartment building. He swiftly ascended the stairs and entered one of the few rooms which still had a door. Closing it carefully behind him he went to the bedroom. Lifting the mattress of the bed he exposed his few belongings to the light. Half a dozen bolter clips, a small medical kit and a box of rations. Replacing the spent clip he placed the remaining five in his robes. Soon he would need to acquire some more ammunition. The reason he had gone to the ware house in the first place was to look for any bolter ammunition. He had found none, but when he heard the gang arriving rather than leave he withdrew to the shadows. He had been observing the Z warriors for several days now, and it was apparent that if they continued to expand at their current rate they would be able to overwhelm the Imperial forces in the city and begin a civil war on the planet. Although it would easily be defeated the civilian casualties would be high. He would not allow that to occur.

Taking one of the nutrition bars from the ration pack he replace the mattress and sat down on the bed. As he ate the ration bar his mind wondered to how he had come to Dakaan city, and even this planet, Cypra Mundi, in the first place. He was the only one who managed to reach the hanger before the reactor overloaded. He got in a transport and initiated launch procedures. He waited for his colleagues to arrive before he took off. He saw them running through the hanger doors. They were almost at the transport when their pursuers came into view and opened fire. He watched, helpless as his friends were killed. With no reason to wait he closed the access ramp and took off. With difficulty he managed to attach himself to a freighter whilst remaining undetected. When it arrived in the Cypra sector he detached himself from the freighter and descended to the planet undetected.

Now he was on his own on a strange world. Clearing such thoughts from his mind he strengthened his resolve and finished the ration bar. Carefully checking the streets were clear he headed for the roof. Whilst he was no longer an official member of a force, he would continue to serve the Emperor while he still could.

Chapter 2 coming soon


	2. Chapter 2

**I was hoping for some reviews before posting the next chapter, please read and review, I want you thoughts and inputs. I'm on holiday for the next couple of weeks, but please, please review.**

**Chapter 2**

Brian and his men walked into the entrance of Saint Janus hospital and Brian raised his stubbers to point at the receptionist.

"Do exactly as I say and you won't be harmed. If you don't," he fired at the ceiling causing people to duck, "I think you get the idea."

The receptionist nodded. "Get everyone out of the lobby, now!" The receptionist began to get everyone into the main hospital. "Rocko, you and ten guys hold the front, move the furniture to use as cover." Rocko nodded and began to entrench the gang members into the hospital. "Bruce, take a dozen guys and secure all other entrances, barricade them shut if possible." Bruce grabbed some guys and headed off. "The rest of you, get to the upper story windows and blast any Arbite who gets close enough." Grinning they headed for the stairs. With defence under control Brian went to were the receptionist had gone.

"Listen up people, we aren't here to harm you, if you stay out of our way. Docs are to continue treating patients. The rest of you are to stay out and if one of us tells you to do something you do it, understand?" they all nodded. "Good."

Brian went to a first floor window and looked out. The first Arbite squad had arrived, but didn't seem to see anything wrong. Brian decided to change that. "Fred, let them know we're here." Fred grinned broadly and hefted up his heavy stubber and let rip. The squad lost two men before they could get to cover. "Good, let's get this party started!"

The scrambled call was received by almost all of the Arbite forces in the area. Johnson's squad heard it and headed over to the hospital as fast as they could. Upon arrival they found half a dozen other squads and a medic team helping Gregory's injured squad members. Gregory came to Johnson. "The captain says you in charge of this one, you've had more experience in sieges than the rest of us."

"Me?"

"Yes you, what's the plan?"

"Umm…" Johnson had to gather himself, he had just been give charge of a serious tactical situation involving many innocents. There could be no screw ups. "Form a perimeter around the building, no one goes in or out. Get communications going with the guys inside. I want to know who is in there and how many are hostiles." Gregory nodded and went off to get it organised.

A perimeter was soon established and all civilians were cleared from the area. The group inside had been identified as Z warriors. Their leader was a man named Brian, and from what the Arbites could see he had dug himself in and was ready for the long haul. Arbite snipers could spot several people on the upper stories, but it was difficult discerning whether or not they were hostile. Brian was demanding the release of several prisoners, many of whom were murderers. Negotiators were busy buying him time, but he was unsure what to do. A frontal assault could result in many civilian and Arbite casualties, Brian had secured all entrances, so there was no chance of sneaking in and the building was too far away from any others to make a covert entrance via the roof. Johnson was at a loss as of what to do.

"Sergeant," called Blain, "up there." He was pointed at the roof of the building. A black figure could be seen. "It's him."

The figure met Johnson's gaze briefly before moving out of sight. Johnson hoped that he could solve this nightmare of a situation.

The figure had moved to the door for the roof. It was locked. This was not a problem for him as he grasped the handle and ripped it free of the door. He carefully made his way silently down stairs. Glancing to either side of him he saw the corridor was clear. Moving stealthily he made his way to the stairwell when he heard the elevator start up. Some one was coming to the top floor. Looking around he saw a utility room. Moving swiftly he hid himself while keeping a view on the elevator. The door opened and two men stepped out.

"You go that way, I'll cover this side," said one of them. The other nodded and they spilt up. Once the one who had spoken was out of sight he left the utility room and followed the other one. His target looked down either way of the T junction he had reached. Turning back to ask his colleague which way he should go when he saw a large figure running at him. Before he could make a sound the black figure spun and smashed his heel into the Z warrior's chin in a spinning kick. This broke the Z warrior's jaw and knocked him out. The black figure froze, listening to see if he had been detected. After a minute he was sure no one had heard him he lifted the unconscious man and placed him in the utility room. As he was closing the door he heard the other Z warrior returning. Diving into a near by room he rolled to his feet and looked around to see were he was.

Most of the occupants of the room were asleep, but one, a young girl was awake and staring wide eyed at him. He raised a finger to his lips. She smiled and copied, raising her own finger to her lips and giggled slightly. He moved to the door and closed it quietly.

"Who are you mister?" she asked quietly.

"I'm…" he paused, wondering what to say to her, "a friend."

"Ok, my name's Lucy, what's yours?"

"Call me Marius." He could not tell her his real name, so he told her the name of his old Sergeant.

"What ya doing Marius?" she asked inquisitively

"Hiding from someone," he replied looking out the window in the door to check if the Z warrior had passed.

"Is it a game?"

"Umm…" she clearly didn't know the building had been taken over by the Z warriors, "Yes, and you can play to. What you need to do is to stay really quiet and hidden. If they can't find you, you win."

"Ok, I'll be very quiet, they'll never find me." She ducked under her covers.

"That's a good girl, you stay there and I'll try and lead them away from you." He opened the door.

"Bye Marius."

"Good bye Lucy." He went out and closed the door silently behind him. Listening intently he heard footsteps to his left going away form his location. Following the sound he came up behind the Z warrior. Swinging at the side of the Z warrior's neck there was an audible snap as his neck broke. Grabbing the limp body he placed it in the same room as his friend before moving to the stairwell of the hospital. Glancing down he saw the way was clear and proceeded down to the next floor. Approaching to the door he heard two people talking. He looked out briefly and saw they had their backs to him. Acting fast he moved behind them. In one swift movement he smashed their heads together knocking them both out. Carrying their lifeless bodies he moved them into the stairwell where they would hopefully be undetected.

Prowling through the corridors he dispatched three more Z warriors. Doing a final sweep of this floor he came to the elevator when he heard it start up. Diving into a nearby room he moved to were he could see the elevator without being seen. One of the patients in the room sat up.

"Who are you? And what are you doing in here?" he demanded.

"Quiet!" hissed the black figure.

"What? Nurse. Nurse!" the patient began calling. The black figure quickly covered the patient's mouth, but it was too late, the Z warriors had heard and were approaching the room. Moving swiftly he applied just enough force to knock the patient out before charging into the corridor. A snap punch dropped one of the two Z warriors. The other raised his gun to fire, but the black figure grabbed it and pointed it upwards. The auto gun blared at the ceiling for a second before the Z warrior was silenced. The black figure paused and heard frenzied activity on the lower floors. Now stealth was no longer an option he drew his bolter and headed to the lift.

Brian heard the gun fire and began to organize people to deal with it.

"Bruce," Brian called over the vox net, "gather some guys and go and find out what is happening up there!"

"Got it." Bruce looked at the seven guys around him. "Come on, you lot are with me." They headed to the lift to find it was coming to their floor. They spread out and aimed at the lift doors. When the doors opened they all opened fire. The black figure had heard them ready their weapons before the doors opened and was crouching when they fired. The bullets went over his head as he returned fire. He quickly blasted four of them before launching himself at the remainder. Laying into them faster than they could react he dropped three and disarmed the last one. Bruce drew his long knife and circled his foe.

"Give up," said the black figure emotionlessly.

"Never!" Bruce lunged, but the black figure dodged effortlessly. Grasping the hand holding the knife his other hand grabbed Bruce by the throat. Lifting the terrified man off the ground he flung him into a wall with enough force to go straight through it. The vox caster that had been carried by one of the Z warriors crackled as Brian's voice was heard.

"Bruce, talk to me. What is going on?"

The black figure picked up the vox caster and activated it. "Bruce is dead, now I'm coming for you." Crushing the vox caster in his hand he re-entered the elevator and headed for the next floor.

Brian was starting to panic now. Whoever was upstairs would be here soon. He needed to gather more men. After a few hurried vox messages were sent he assembled all the men who weren't with Rocko guarding the front. He counted twenty. That meant that whoever this guy was he had already taken out fifteen of his guys. This guy was tough, but he couldn't face twenty men and win. All Brian had to do now was wait.

He did not wait long. The elevator doors opened and out stepped the black figure. It raised its bolter at the same time as it ducked, ensuring the first volley went over his head. Fast and accurate return fire dropped seven men before he was forced to roll into a near by room. He had taken two hits. One to his arm and one to his stomach. Checking them quickly he discovered they were superficial and prepared to engage the Z warriors once more. Crouching he leant round the door and opened fire. He hit six before the Z warriors pulled back. He reloaded before perusing.

Brian was now really worried. Whoever this guy was he would kill all of them. The Arbites were no longer a concern and he called Rocko's boys up here to support. The figure came round the corner and fired once more. Four more Z warriors were taken down before the remaining three, including Brian, could dive into rooms. He was about to advance when he heard footsteps behind him. Spinning he dropped the front runners before getting into a room himself to avoid the heavy stubber fire. All the other Z warriors wielding heavy stubbers had been taken out in his first volleys, but the one with Rocko were smarter and had used their fellow Z warriors as cover.

Johnson was about to organise an assault from all sides, with the aim of clearing the building as rapidly as possible. The guys inside had stopped communicating and that was always a bad sign. Suddenly the men guarding the front moved out of view.

"What do you want us to do?" asked Gregory.

"Hold positions." Gun fire had been heard from inside. Johnson had assumed that they were shooting hostages, but now the men from the front had pulled back he thought it may have something to do with the black figure he saw on the roof. It could just as easily be a trap. He decided to wait and see what would happen.

Brian glanced out from where he was hiding to see Rocko's boys aiming at the door of one room. Brian breathed a sigh of relief. Now that the assailant was pinned they could finish him. The heavy stubber guys kept covering the door, along with two guys who had triplex las guns set to full power. The remainder began edging towards the room carefully. They were about to rush in when the black figure rushed out.

He struck hard and fast knocking men left right and centre. The men trying to give cover fire could not get a clear shot. Moving to get a better shot suddenly one of the Z warriors in the melee was hurled at them, knocking them over. He was closely followed by the black figure. With four swift and accurate blows he incapacitated all of them. Of the men trying to rush him only five were standing. They opened fire as the black figure raised one of the Z warriors and used him as a shield. Charging at them he fired, dropping all but Rocko. Tossing the Z warrior aside he kicked the gun out of Rocko's hands. Rocko was a big guy, six foot six, but next to the black figure he looked tiny. Standing tall the black figure measured seven foot two and dwarfed his opponent. Rocko swung his club, but the black figure caught it and head butted Rocko. Staggering back Rocko let go of his club, which the black figure swung and smashed Rocko's skull.

Brian was moving back and pulled the two other Z warriors in front of his as a shield. Raising his bolter the black figure blasted the two of them aside. Brian shakily raised he stubbers and pointed them at the approaching black figure. But before he could fire the black figure grabbed the stubbers and crushed them. Staggering back Brian drew his axe and swung it in desperation. The black figure raised his hand and deflected the axe with his forearm. Brian stared in disbelief and the robes fell apart to reveal an armoured gauntlet. Brian's axe clattered to the floor as he sunk to his knees. This man couldn't be human. The black figure grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet.

Johnson was getting worried. Lots of gun fire had been heard and there could be a lot of dead or dying civilians in there. Johnson had to decide, to move in or not. The teams were in position and waiting his command. Suddenly his mind was made for him. The body of Brian came crashing through a second story window and landed hard on the concrete. Johnson gave the signal.

"Move in, move in. All teams move in." There was a frenzy of activity as the teams entered through all the entrances. They quickly swept the building and confirmed no civilian casualties and one hundred per cent Z warrior casualties. Johnson quickly told everyone of the black figure he and Blain had seen on the roof. This was the second time he had interfered in Arbite affairs. Who was he, and what was his motive?

The black figure was on the roof and saw the Arbites entering the building. He decided it was best he wasn't discovered here. Turning to face the nearest roof he sprinted and leapt onto the next roof top. Glancing back to check he had not been spotted he turned and headed off to disappear into the poorer areas of Dakaan city. Unfortunately for him he had not spotted the one person who had been watching him. Rat scurried after him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you ApocSM, even one review shows that someone appreciates my work. Of course, if more people review it will inspire me even more to kepp writing**

**Chapter 3**

Johnson and his men returned to the Arbite HQ. The hospital was being cleared of the dead now. Who ever had intervened was extremely skilled to defeat fifty Z warriors with no civilian casualties. All fire fights were in corridors, and all civilians remained in their rooms. Johnson had finished his report and went to hand it over to the captain. Two hospital patients had seen the black figure, a seven year old girl and a forty one year old man, and were being questioned now. Neither had gotten a look at his face under the hood, but the girl, Lucy, had managed to get his name. Marius. Johnson was lost in his own thoughts when he bumped into Gregory.

"Hey, Johnson. Nice work back there."

"Not really," he replied, "that Marius did all the work for me."

"True, but you had plans in motion to do the same. He just beat you to it."

Johnson merely smiled, knowing his plans would have likely seen a messier outcome. "How are McCoy and Wright?" he asked, inquiring about the men who were hit by heavy stubber fire at the beginning of the incident.

"Wright will be ok, only took wounds to his left arm and leg, but McCoy is worse. He took a bullet to the lung, and the doctors are trying to stabilise him now."

"Good thing the fight was at a hospital," Johnson remarked wryly.

"Yeah."

"Does it look like he'll pull through?"

"The doctors are hopeful."

"That's good news," Johnson said with a smile, "See you around, I have to hand in my report, then I'm going home to sleep."

"Me too, see you tomorrow."

Johnson handed in his report and headed home. On the way he could only think about who was it that kept intervening and why. Whoever it was seemed to disappear after every encounter. With any luck he could help in their attempts to shut down the Z warriors. Every thing the Arbites had tried had met with very heavy resistance. Whoever their leader was, he was organised. Other gangs in Dakaan could not expand beyond a certain point due to the inability to organise such a large force. That is why the Z warrior expansion went unchecked at first; the Arbites assumed disorganisation would tear it apart. How wrong they had been. Now more than fifty per cent of the people in gangs belong with the Z warriors. At this rate they would soon outnumber the Arbites. That was what Johnson was afraid of.

The black figure dropped down from the roof and landed in a crouch in front of the building he had been using as a hideout. Glancing either side to see if anyone had followed didn't see anyone. Rising from his crouch he entered the building.

Rat had been watching from above, perched atop a near by roof. He was curious as to why the figure had entered this building. Pausing to consider sneaking into the building for a look, he decided against it recalling the damage the black figure had done at the hospital. Rat deduced that this was where the figure was living and that this was valuable information that Zarlan would want to know. Smiling to himself Rat headed off to report.

The black figure entered the room he was staying in and got out the med kit. During the fire fight he had taken a few hits, nothing serious. He removed his robes and treated the wounds. He then turned to his robes. There were now blood stains on them and they needed to be removed. He went to the sink and turned the taps on, the fact that the water was still on was one of the reasons he had chosen this place. While removing the blood stains he began to wonder why the Z warriors had attacked the hospital. They could not have hoped to capture the place permanently, and if they had wanted to free the prisoners, like the leader of them claimed, why had they not attacked the prison? There numbers were sufficient to overwhelm the prison guards in a surprise attack.

He thought about it for a while before coming to the conclusion that the attack was in response the massacre at the warehouse. Whoever was running this gang was testing the new foe that he was, determining his strength. He was not dealing with an ordinary gang leader. Whoever ran this gang was doing so with military precision. Hanging the robes to dry he lay on the bed and pondered his latest problem. Ammunition. The transport he had used to reach the planet was not stocked with ammunition when he took it. He was now down to four and a half clips. He had heard of information of a rouge trader that was in the city on business. He would be the most likely person to re-supply him. He would rest now, then try and find out where he could meet the rouge trader.

Zarlan had heard what had happened at St Janus hospital. He had lost fifty men. What ever force the Arbites had put together must have been a good one, as there were no civilian casualties reported. He was now eagerly awaiting Rat's report. What ever he was facing he would need a better force than these poorly organised gangsters. He had several trusted lieutenants; he called five into his throne room.

"Listen," he said leaning forward, "I need each of you to train up a fifteen man squad. Get them to the level that you all know I expect. I'll soon have a special mission for them."

They nodded and left to begin training the squads. As they left Rat entered. Zarlan did not like the small, rodent like man who came before him, but he was the best at the job.

"What do you have to report?"

"I've found who's attacking your men."

"Who?" asked Zarlan with disbelief. How could one man cause so much damage?

"Yeah, who. He's a massive guy wearin' black robes with a hood. I couldn't see his face. I've found his hideout though."

"His hideout," said Zarlan, sitting back. This would be perfect for an ambush. "Take this," he tossed a small vox unit to Rat, "and stake out his hideout. Radio in whenever he leaves, understood?"

Rat nodded and scurried out. Zarlan now began thinking. He would give his lieutenants a week to get the squads ready, then when this new foe left his force would move in and set up an ambush. With seventy five men waiting in ambush whoever was interfering with the Z warriors would soon stop.

The mysterious man donned his robes and set off. He would prowl through the bars and clubs for a lead. Rouge traders rarely advertise their presence and this one was no exception. He after searching through many clubs he found who he had been seeking. Due to his size he could not blend into the crowd, so hung back at the edge, hidden mainly in shadow. He approached his target slowly. The man near the bar speaking with three large men was his target. He had heard that he always knew what was going on in the city. He sat down near by, so as not to give away his size. He could not afford for his possibly only lead for finding the Rouge trader to be scared off.

"Excuse me," he asked keeping his head down so they couldn't see his face, "I need some information."

"Oh really, and who are you?"

Seeing as he had already used this name he decided to stick with it. "My name is Marius."

"Well Marius, what do you want to know?"

"I heard there was a Rouge trader in town. I want to know where I can find him."

"Well sorry, but I don't know about any Rouge trader," he said turning to go.

"You're lying," Marius said firmly.

He paused. "Oh you think so. Get him boys!" the three guys advanced cracking their knuckles.

"If you tell me what I want to know I will not have to hurt you."

"You're in no position to make threats," he smirked. Rising swiftly he caught the first one's punch and crushed his fist and tossing him aside he booted another in the stomach and smashed the third across the jaw. The speed with which he had taken them down silenced the club, save for the club music. With the goons dispatched Marius grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him clear off the ground.

"Are you going to cooperate?" Jason nodded, unable to speak from the choking. "Good." Marius dropped him. "Now were can I find the Rouge trader?"

"I don't know," he said coughing and holding his throat, "but I know someone who might do. He moves around a lot, but can always been found gambling in the casino across town. His name's Mike. He goes in their every couple of weeks."

Now Marius had the information he wanted he turned and left rapidly before Arbites arrived. He did not need their interference.

Johnson arrived soon after the call was sent to the Arbites about a disturbance. Unfortunately all those involved had left the scene, but there were still plenty of witnesses inside the crowded club. As soon as Marius was linked to the scene he was put in charge due to the two previous connections with him. He quickly began questioning people. He soon discovered what had happened.

Jason Molino, a well know information source, was approached by Marius. No one heard what he asked, but whatever it was Jason clearly did not want to talk about it as he was said to set his three goons on Marius. In under a minute Marius had dispatched them, got his information and left. At least now they had a lead on Marius.

Johnson quickly organised a search for Jason, he would be brought in for questioning, and then hopefully they could get some information on Marius. Maybe they could recruit him into the Adeptus Arbites. Someone like that would be invaluable.

The captain put Johnson in charge of a force that was dedicated to tracking down Marius, including any incidents he was involved in. The force comprised of Johnson's squad along with three others. Johnson had no doubt that it would not be enough to stop Marius if he attacked them, and there was no way they could contain him. Unless he wanted to come with them there was no way to bring him in for questioning.

Gareth was one of Zarlan's lieutenants. He, like the rest, was ex Imperial Guard and would soon have his squad combat ready. Firstly he had to get them to respond on command. This would have been a difficult task with an ordinary bunch of gangers, but the seventy five picked for this were the best and most obedient. He was putting them through a week long boot camp; fortunately they were more than raw recruits. All could handle weapons with a reasonable level of proficiency and knew how to follow general orders.

But responding to general orders would not be enough. He spent the first day doing exercises in which he would give rapid orders and they had to respond instantly. With it so concentrated by the end of day one they could respond as well as an Imperial Guard squad. The next day he moved on to weapons training. They all had preferences in different weapons. That had to change. The Mars pattern las gun was what his previous recruits had used and that's what they would use. Only one of the fifteen had used one before so it took two full days to get them fully trained on it and by the end they were far more proficient than they had been with any weapon. All save two. Three of the gangers had experience with heavy stubbers. After a few tests Gareth had discovered the two best and while the rest retrained on the las gun they practised offering suppressing fire as well as target practise and running with the heavy weapon.

On the beginning of the fourth day they moved onto squad based tactics. They ran teamwork exercises for the day and were soon so integrated that they would trust each other with their lives. There previous experience with one another in the gang helped. Gareth was wondering if training gangs into Imperial Guard regiments would be effective. They had responded better to his training than any recruits he had ever had because of their gang experience.

For the rest of the week a mixture of exercises were done to keep their new skills sharp and by the end Gareth's squad was ready to face their new foe. On the final day all five squads gathered together and trained as one. They fought as effectively as an Imperial Guard platoon. The other squads had responded as well to the training and the fiercest gang force the Dakaan city, in fact the fiercest in the Cypra system. Whoever was after the Z warriors would have one hell of a fight on their hands.


End file.
